Tabernacle Truths
The Brazen Altar
Exodus 27:1-8; 29:38-46
Leviticus 1:1-9
 
To adequately understand the significance of the Old Testament tabernacle in the wilderness requires a study of, not only the book of Exodus and the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament, but the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. 
 
You can understand the tabernacle historically and the part it played in Jewish life, but the real significance of it and the truths it reveals are only fully understood when it is seen through the lens of the New Testament. 
 
So this morning, as we begin our journey through the tabernacle, we'll study the Old Testament verses related to it, but you might want to put a marker in at the book of Hebrews because I will be referring to as well. 
 
Let's begin at
 
Exodus 27:1
 
Let's focus for a few minutes on the first five words of the verse.  "You shall make an altar".
 
This is the Lord talking to Moses and He is giving Moses the blueprint for the structure called the tabernacle.  God gave Moses the pattern, and now he is to begin the construction, and he begins with this altar.
 
Now this altar is located in what is called the courtyard of the Tabernacle.  And notice, the instructions for how it is to be built are very specific.
 
It was to be made of acacia wood, which is a very durable hardwood.  The dimension are given in cubits, and there is some debate on the size of a cubit, but most people believe that translated into footage, it was about 7 1/2 feet cubed.  So it was a substantial size.
 
So first of all we have this hollow box made of wood that is about 7 1/2 feet wide, tall and high. 
 
Verse 2 tells us there were to be horns on each of the four corners and the entire thing was to be overlaid with bronze.  
 
Now keep in mind, this altar, along with all the other pieces, plus the tabernacle itself were all portable and were to be carried wherever God led the children of Israel to go. When the glory cloud moved, they disassemble everything and started moving with it.
 
Verse 3 describes all the utensils that were to be made and used with the altar.  There were pans to catch the ashes as the wood and animals burned inside it.  There were shovels to deal with the ashes and fire.  There were basins for catching the blood that would be spilled.  It was important to catch the blood because some of that blood would be smeared on the horns of that altar, some would be poured down at the basin of that altar, and some of it would utilized inside this building.
 
 
By the way, Jewish tradition says the bottoms of those basins were round so that it was impossible to sit them down.  God wanted them to understand that the blood was precious.  It was not to be trampled under anybody's feet.  So they couldn't sit it down. 
 
They were also to make some forks.  these were pronged utensils that were used to handle the pieces of the animals that were being sacrificed.
 
In verses 4 and 5 we are told about a great network of bronze that would serve as a grate near the middle of the altar.  It would set on a ledge and be held in mid-air. 
 
And notice, also verse 4 says they were to attach four bronze rings at each of the corners.  They were very practical.  Verse 6 tells us about the poles of wood that were used to carry the altar by inserting them through these rings. 
 
And you will notice several times, they were told to overlay everything with bronze. 
 
Now this altar was a part of the daily ministry the priests had. 
 
Exodus 29:38-46
 
Remember, God is building this tabernacle because He wants to dwell among His people.  And every day, they were to offer sacrifices on this altar because God says, "This is where I will meet with you and speak to you." 
 
If the tabernacle is God's dwelling place, the altar is God's meeting place.
Now I realize all of that is a little tedious to read and study.  It appears to be a bunch of details regarding Jewish worship thousands of years ago that is completely unrelated to us. 
 
After all, if the altar was so important, why don't churches still use them?  If the Jews need an altar to meet with God, why don't Christians need an altar also? 

Well, take a look at Hebrews 13 and you will find the answer to your questions.  Notice what we read in
 
Hebrews 10:12a  (We have an altar)  STOP!
 
He's talking to Christians and he says, "We have an altar!", and if you keep reading, you will discover that the author is talking about Jesus.  Jesus is our altar.  We don't need a physical altar anymore because it was just a picture of the real thing. 
 
So this Old Testament altar is pointing forward to the Lord Jesus Christ, Who in His person and work, is our altar.
 
For instance, the altar was made of acacia wood, which was  a hard, durable wood.  That is a picture of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Isaiah 53:2 says of the Lord that "he shall go up as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground."  The wood represents the perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus.
 
Remember, everything was overlaid with bronze or brass. When you read about brass in the Bible it is always a picture of judgment, and in particular, God's judgment on sin. 
When the children of Israel were bitten by the poisonous snakes in the wilderness, God instructed Moses to take some brass and make out of that brass a brazen serpent and put it up on a pole. 
 
God was painting a picture of His judgment on sin.  And when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, just like the brazen serpent, He was lifted up off the earth, not because He had sinned, but because humanity had sinned. 
 
That is a reminder that the divinely determined and prepared meeting place between lost sinners and Holy God is at the cross of Calvary.  That's why we have songs in our hymn book like this.  "I must needs go home by the way of the cross.  There's no other way but this.  I will never catch sight of the gates of light if the way of the cross I miss."
 
So with that background and application in mind, I want to share with you the story of the altar.  Let's begin with
 
1.  A Sinner
 
For a few moments, let's back up and place ourselves in the days of Moses as an Israelite, when this tabernacle was functioning out there in the wilderness. 
 
You approach this place of worship, but you are very apprehensive.  You are real uneasy.  You want to get to God.  You need to get to God.  There is a desperateness, because you want to please Jehovah. 
 
 
But as you approach, your heart is filled with a sense of apprehension and guilt and anxiety because in you mind are embedded all the things that were written on the tablets of Stone that Moses brought down from the top of Mt. Sinai.  The Ten Commandments.
 
Perhaps you were there the day that Moses returned to the camp and was met with singing and dancing as the people worshipped a golden calf they had made. 
 
You'll never forget the scene as Moses angrily shattered those tablets of stone!  What a vivid reminder of how God's own people Whom He had delivered from Egyptian captivity had broken the law of God.  The very first commandment was to have no other God's before Him.  They were not to make any graven images. 
 
And even as Moses returned from his encounter with God, the people down below were violating the very commandments He carried in his arms.
 
The fact of the matter is, the law of God wasn't broken.  It was still eternal and unchanging.  What was broken was people.  And when you and I sin, 
we become broken humans.  We aren't functioning as God intended. 
 
So, here you are, approaching the Tabernacle, and all the commandments that you have broken are being replayed over and over in your mind. And you realize you are a guilty sinner before God.  And because of that, there is great apprehension and dread caused by the broken law of God. 
 
As you approach, you see this beautiful white linen fence surrounding the Tabernacle.  That only intensifies the apprehension because it is a reminder of the perfect holiness of God. 
 
You have broken God's law and need to be near God and want to be near God, but you are approaching the dwelling place of a holy God.  So you say, "There's no way I'm getting in there!  This fence keeps me from God."
 
So you begin to cry and say, "What am I going to do?  I want to get to God, but I'm a guilty sinner and I'm so filled with apprehension and God is so holy and so white and so pure.  What am I going to do?" 
 
Then someone says, " There's a way to get in! Why don't you check the door?  "What?"  "Use the door!  There's a door.  There's a gate to this fence."
 
And sure enough, they lead you around to the front and you see this beautiful, embroidered cloth hanging across the entrance to the dwelling place of God.   
 
Did you realize that God has provided a way for you and me to get to Him?  Jesus said in John 10:9, "I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved."   Understand, you can't climb over the fence because it's too high!  You caon't dig under or tear through.  There is only One Way in and that is through the God-designed, God-prepared door.  That's why Jesus said in John 14:6, "Nobody comes  to the Father without going through Me."  
 
 
Now the good news is God's invitation is to the whole world.  Whoever wants to can come in, but they have to come through Jesus.  You have to pass through individually, but you can get in! 

That is good news for an apprehensive sinner!
 
So you make your way to the gate, and you are meet by a couple of door greeters.  You say,  "You guys can't begin to imagine how happy I am there is a way to get in this place!  I am thrilled that I can go in.
 
And they say, "Absolutely!  So what did you bring as a sacrifice?"
 
And immediately, the apprehension returns.  Your face falls.  Your spirit falls.  Your hope is dashed because you didn't bring anything.  In fact, you don't even have anything to bring. 
 
Now that is a real problem because Exodus 34:20 says that nobody appears before the Lord empty-handed.
 
God's requirement is that in order to enter through  the gate you have to bring an offering with you. You have to bring a sacrifice, and it has to be 
 
2.  A Substitute
 
Now the requirements for the animal sacrifice were very specific and in Leviticus 1, we are told about what kind of animal sacrifice qualified to get you in the gate.
 
Leviticus 1:1-2
Now we won't go through all the specifications, but read this chapter and you will find all kinds of requirements.  If you were too poor to bring an animal from the herd, you could bring a little bird.  So nobody was too poor to come. 
 
But there were specific instructions regarding the animal that would get you through the gate.  In fact, verse 3 tells us how the sacrifice was to be selected.
 
verse 3  
 
In other words, not just any old animal would do.  This animal would serve as a substitute and it had to be carefully selected and inspected.  It was to be without blemish.  And the priest would check the animal to make sure it qualified. 
 
By the way, do you remember how John the Baptist referred to Jesus when he approached him at the Jordan River?  John said, "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."  
 
Jesus is our substitute!  He is the one who takes our place.  So does He qualify?  After all, the sacrifice had to be without blemish!  
 
Think about the qualifications of Jesus:  For instance, as we recently studied, He was born of a virgin,  The
It was absolutely essential that Jesus Christ be born of a virgin!  If Jesus Christ had been born as you and I are He would have been tainted with original sin. 
He would be born with a sinful nature just like you and I are.  He would be tainted from the very birth and He would have been disqualified from being our substitute.  He was born of a virgin that He might be a qualified sacrifice.
Follow His life and ministry and you will see a perfect life.  John said in 1 John 3:5, "in him is no sin.  He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin."  One time Jesus stood and said, "Who convicts me of sin?"   He was giving an invitation to the whole universe to examine His life and ministry and words and actions, knowing that no one could accuse Him of anything!
 
He lived an absolutely perfect, virtuous life.  In fact, before He was crucified, the priests looked Him over real good!  they tried to find something!  They hired professional witnesses to lie!  They stirred up the crowd, but when He died on the cross of Calvary, He died as the innocent one. 
 
In fact, Judas said, "I have betrayed the innocent blood."  Pontius Pilate said, "I find no fault in this man."  When He was hanging on the cross, the Centurion said, "Truly this is a righteous man."  Jesus Christ died on that cross as the absolute sinless, spotless sacrifice for all mankind!
 
That's why 1 Peter 1:19 says that we are redeemed with the blood of Christ "as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." So once again, you can chase away your apprehension!  There is a gate and it is Jesus and you have a sacrifice and He is Jesus also!
 
So you go through the gate and enter into the courtyard and you've never seen anything like it!  It is a whirlwind of activity!  There are priests and animals everywhere!  The air is thick with the smell and stench of blood and smoke. There is death and blood all around you. 
 
And right in front of you is this large bow covered in brass that has a fire built inside of it and smoke billowing into the air!  And as you watch, what is described in Leviticus 1:6-9 is taking place.
 
Leviticus 1:6-9
 
And you've never witnesses anything like what you see!  It is at the same time disgusting and revolting and beautiful.  It is an awful stench, and yet it is a sweet-smelling aroma.  It is the hideousness of sin and the beauty of forgiveness. 
 
So what is happening?  What is the message of the altar?  It is a preview of what happened at Calvary.  When the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary, the wrath of a holy God was poured out upon our sins as Jesus bore those sins in His own body on Calvary's tree.  The wrath of God burned itself out in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ when he paid the price for your sins. 
 
By the way, when they finally finished the construction of the altar and laid the first sacrifice on it, according to Leviticus 9:24, fire fell out of the sky from God and consumed the sacrifice!
 
Can you imagine what that was like?  They are busy getting everything in place.  They've got the grate and the sacrifice ready!  They kill the sacrifice and take those chunks of meat and using the meat hooks get everything in place. 
 
Then they step back and somebody says, "What do we do now?  God didn't give any instruction about a fire!" 
And all of a sudden!  WHOOSH! Fire falls from heaven and in an instant, in one mighty movement by a sovereign God, everything is consumed!
 
Did you realize that's what happened at Calvary?  When Jesus Christ, our substitute became sin for us on that cross of Calvary, God's wrath, like fire out of heaven, burned upon him.  It is our sin that caused the Lord Jesus Christ to endure all of God's wrath.
And in one gracious, sovereign act, sin was dealt with for eternity!
 
And it happened through the work of a substitute.
 
A sinner, a substitute, and thirdly,
 
3.  A Sacrifice
 
This altar has two primary titles.  First, it is referred to as the altar of burnt offering.  And the idea of a burnt offering speaks to the fact that that when those animal pieces are laid up on that wood and that fire begins to burn, smoke ascends heavenward.  The offering on that altar is known as sweet smelling offering. 
 
The symbolism there is that when the smoke ascends, it ascends into the presence of God and God is aware of the fact that through the burning of that animal substitute, the demands of His Holy law are being met. 
 
That means God is satisfied.  By the way, that's what is referenced in Ephesians 5:2 when we are told to "walk in love as Christ loved us and has given himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor."
When Jesus died on that cross of Calvary, the Heavenly Father was satisfied.  Jesus paid the price for sin and it was paid in full.  God's Holy Law has been satisfied, adn the sweet smelling aroma that drifted heavenward to God is the proof of that. 
 
The altar is also called the Brass Altar or the Brazen Altar.  That means it not only contains a God-ward message of satisfaction, but it also contains a man-ward message of salvation. 
 
Ephesians 5:2 says that Christ gave himself for US.  By the cross of Christ, by the altar sacrifice, God was satisfied and you and I are saved.  When we're standing in that court and we see that fire going up and we see that animal being burned we realize we are saved on the basis of a substitute sacrifice.
 
Watch this:  One of the most recognizable features of the tabernacle was seen on the Day of Atonement.  On that day, once a year, the High Priest would take the blood that was caught in those basins, and through certain procedure and regulation, make his way into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle that blood on the Mercy Seat.  He was making an atonement for sin. 
 
What is often overlooked is what they did with the ashes that were caught in the firepans.  Notice
 
Leviticus 6:10-11
 
Notice:  The blood was carried in, the ashes were carried out.  When Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, the blood is presented before God on our behalf, our sins are reduced to ashes and God carries them out and disposes of them.
By the way, which direction did the tabernacle face? 
 
According to Number 3:38, the entrance to the tabernacle faced the east. The significance of that is that primarily because the glory of the Lord is always pictured as coming from the east.  That's true of the tabernacle, the temple and the 2nd Coming of Christ.
 
But there's something else there that I want you to see.  Remember, the blood went in and the ashes went out.  Or we could say it this way:  the blood went west and the ashes went east. 
 
No wonder David wrote in the 103rd psalm:
 
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
 
6 The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
 
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
 
Listen:  when you, a sinner, meet Jesus, your  substitute at the brazen altar and allow him to be your sacrifice, He will take you all the way in to the presence of God and your sins will be separated from you to be remembered no more! 
 
That's why we believe and preach that salvation is in through the blood of Christ and only by the blood.  It's not good works. It's the blood.  It's not church membership.  It's not baptism. It's not good works.   It is the blood of Christ that makes it possible for you and I to meet a holy God.  Jesus put His all on the altar, by His blood we are saved, and separated from our sins..
 
One final word and we'll give the invitation.  The question today is—Jesus gave His all on the altar for us.  Is your all on the altar?  I means is it ALL on the altar?  Romans 12:1 says, "beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice."
 
Remember those flesh hooks?  The purpose of those flesh hooks was to get that meat on the altar and keep it in the center of the flame.  Sometimes you and I have a tendency to get off the altar and forget what Jesus did for us.  We need to allow the flesh hook of the Holy Spirit to bring us back to the place where we can say, "Dear Jesus, my all is on the altar for you."
 
Let's pray.